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Westfield Annapolis
Westfield Annapolis is a shopping mall, owned by the Westfield Corporation, located near the junction of U.S. Route 50 and Interstate 97 in Parole, near Annapolis, Maryland. Its anchor stores are Macy's, JCPenney, Nordstrom, Forever 21, Crate & Barrel and Sears, and it features an 11-screen movie theater. The mall is known informally as "Annapolis Mall". History The site was at one time the location of the Annapolis terminus of the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway, and was known as the "Best Gate" station, which had three single-ended and four double-ended sidings, where rail cars could be shunted on or off of the single-track WB&A east-west railway which ran to the north–south Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad lines. This "Best Gate" station gave the name to the nearby Bestgate Road, which today runs along the northern perimeter of the mall. A free-standing, single-level Montgomery Ward store occupied the site during the 1970s. Following the construction and opening of a single-level mall on the site in 1980, Montgomery Ward became an anchor. Additional anchor stores included Washington, D.C.-based Garfinckel's and Hecht's, both with two levels. The mall was expanded in 1983 with the addition of a single-level JCPenney. Garfinckel's closed in 1990 after the company went bankrupt. In 1991, Toys "R" Us (now closed) opened across the street. Sam's Club also opened across the street in 1992. The mall was expanded again in 1994 with the addition of a two-level Nordstrom store as well as an expanded food court. In 1998 a two-level Lord & Taylor store opened which was followed by the opening of an 11-screen movie theater. The Montgomery Ward store closed in 2001 and in 2002 was replaced with a Sears store. Hecht's transitioned to Macy's in 2006. Another large addition to the mall was completed in 2007, which included an expansion of the existing JCPenney store. The former Garfinckel's space once housed a two-level Borders Books and Music store which operated during the early to mid 2000s until its closure in 2011. A two-level Forever 21 store now occupies the space. The financially struggling and now defunct retailer Woodward & Lothrop tried unsuccessfully to build a store in the mall in the early 1990s; however, its efforts were blocked by the mall's corporate management, which instead brought Nordstrom to the center in 1994. On November 16, 2017, it was announced that anchor Lord & Taylor would be closing at Westfield Annapolis; it closed in April 2018. 2006 shooting On Saturday, November 18, 2006, an off duty United States Secret Service agent was at the mall when he witnessed a fight in progress in the food court. During the attempt to break up the fight, one of the combatants pulled a gun and fired at the agent, wounding him. The agent returned fire, hitting the shooter twice. A third person was wounded in the altercation. A Midshipman from the U.S. Naval Academy ran toward the sound of gunshots and provided first aid for the Secret Service agent. That Midshipman later received the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. The mall was closed shortly after the incident, with all patrons asked to leave over the public address system. The associated trial lasted until December 2007 and the shooter was sentenced to 65 years in prison. Current anchors * JCPenney (since 1983) * Nordstrom (since 1994) * Bow Tie Cinemas (since 1998) * Sears (since 2002) * Macy’s (since 2006) * Forever 21 (since 2013) * Crate & Barrel Former anchors * Montgomery Ward (1980–2001) * Hecht's (1980–2006) * Garfinckel's (1980–1990) * Lord & Taylor (1998–2018) Category:Malls in Maryland Category:Shopping Malls Category:Multi-Level Malls Category:Westfield Malls Category:Malls in the United States Category:Malls that opened in 1980